"Hanyu, come to the faculty office."
At the front of the classroom, Shizuka Hiratsuka planted both hands on her hips and spoke to Genichi in a tone that allowed no argument.
Her eyes were sharp, carrying the unique authority of a homeroom teacher. They seemed to say: Try not coming, and see if I don't beat you up.
Genichi lifted his head and glanced at this familiar teacher, a complicated feeling rising in his chest.
Clearly, even though this everyday crossover world was full of vengeful spirits, it still had no shortage of Shizuka Hiratsuka, the iron-fisted teacher.
What was that saying again?
Heroines may come and go, but Shizuka stays forever.
"Understood, Hiratsuka-sensei."
Genichi answered, then lowered his head and continued packing his things.
His attitude was calm and distant, as though none of this had anything to do with him.
Shizuka frowned, but she did not say anything else. She turned and left the classroom.
Genichi watched her back, but his mind was already on something else.
Over the past few days, after returning to this world, he had conducted some investigations.
He had infiltrated several ancient shrines and searched through their hidden archives. He had hacked into Japan's top-secret government databases and gone through every record related to "abnormal incidents." He had even visited several infamous supernatural locations and personally investigated them.
The results were somewhat surprising.
This world did have vengeful spirits, but there were no humans with supernatural power.
No onmyoji. No exorcists. No ability users. No organizations capable of opposing the vengeful spirits.
The priests at those shrines were nothing more than ordinary people putting on a performance with Shinto rituals.
The supernatural incidents in the government archives had all been classified in the end as mental illness or accidental deaths.
In other words, while this world had vengeful spirits, it did not have any supernatural humans.
To Genichi, that was undoubtedly good news.
After all, if this world had no supernatural power, then it was essentially his private backyard.
Those vengeful spirits were experience packs that belonged to him alone.
He could safely devour spirits here and increase his strength without worrying about anyone interfering.
While thinking that, he had already arrived outside the faculty office.
Genichi pushed the door open and walked in.
There were no other teachers in the office. Only Shizuka was there.
Shizuka sat at her desk. When she saw Genichi enter, she pointed to the chair beside her.
"Sit."
Genichi sat down and looked at her.
Shizuka reached for the pack of cigarettes on her desk and was about to light one.
But after glancing at Genichi, she hesitated, then put the cigarette back.
She cleared her throat, looked at him, and a hint of concern appeared in her eyes.
"You applied to drop out?"
Genichi nodded.
"Can you tell me why?"
Shizuka's tone was very serious. There was not the slightest hint of joking in it.
As his homeroom teacher, she had seen plenty of students drop out before.
Some did it because of family issues. Some did it because of academic pressure. Some had personal reasons.
But no matter the reason, she felt that she had to ask clearly.
Because she was a teacher.
Genichi looked at Shizuka, and a trace of warmth rose in his chest.
There was no doubt that Shizuka was a good teacher.
The version of him in this world had been an orphan, and Shizuka had helped him often. To him back then, that had been rare warmth.
That was why he still respected her.
"As for the reason..."
Genichi thought for a moment, then decided to tell the truth. "There's nothing left at school that I need to learn. So I don't plan to keep wasting time here."
Shizuka's brows drew together when she heard that.
"Nothing left to learn?"
There was a hint of displeasure in her tone. "Kid, do you think that kind of excuse is enough to convince me?"
She stood up, planted both hands on the desk, and looked down at Genichi.
"Explain yourself properly. What's the real reason? Otherwise, you can get ready to take a beating."
Genichi looked at her and could not help laughing.
Still the same familiar Shizuka.
Still the same violent teacher who would start swinging at the slightest disagreement.
But her concern was genuine.
Genichi fell silent for a moment. Then he raised his head and looked into Shizuka's eyes.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, do you believe this world has supernatural power?"
Shizuka froze.
Her face showed an unmistakable expression that said, Are you messing with me?
"Supernatural power?"
She repeated the phrase, her tone carrying obvious doubt. "You mean that occult nonsense?"
Genichi nodded.
Shizuka could not help laughing, though there was a trace of helplessness in her smile.
"Hanyu, did you read some weird novel recently? Or did you get influenced by those ghost stories online?"
She sighed and sat back down.
"Listen to me. This world is governed by science. All that supernatural stuff is fake. If you're having trouble, you can tell me directly. You don't need to use something like this as an excuse."
Genichi looked at her and did not argue.
He had expected this reaction from the start.
After all, in a world where no humans had supernatural power, if an ordinary person suddenly started talking about "supernatural power," anyone would think something was wrong with his head.
But Genichi had no intention of giving up like this.
He thought for a moment, then decided to show Shizuka a little something.
"Sensei, do you know why I want to drop out?"
Shizuka raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue.
Genichi lifted his hand and pointed toward the corner of the office.
"Look over there."
Shizuka followed the direction of his finger.
There was nothing there.
Only a nearly withered pothos plant and several cardboard boxes stacked together.
"There's nothing there."
Shizuka sounded confused.
"Look closer."
Genichi spoke softly.
With a thought, a shadow silently emerged from the darkness beneath his feet and drifted toward that corner.
Shizuka's eyes widened.
What did she just see?
In that corner, a blurry figure had suddenly appeared.
No, not a figure.
It was a shadow.
A pitch-black, faceless shadow, as though it had been condensed from pure darkness.
The shadow floated in midair, slowly turned in a circle, then drifted back to Genichi's side and merged into his own shadow.
Shizuka's mouth fell open, but no sound came out.
Her mind went completely blank.
What was that?
"That is supernatural power."
(End of Chapter)
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